Southall to Brentford - GWR West London Branch line

The Great Western and
Brentford railway act of 1855 paved the way for the construction of a three and a
half mile branch line from Southall on the GWR main line to Brentford
Docks to allow the transportation of coal. Four years later in 1859 the
line opened for freight with passenger services commencing one year later.
By February 1872 the GWR had taken control of the line with a new station
added at Trumps Crossing but this facility had a chequered history being
closed during the First World War, re-opened in 1920 only for it to be
closed again in 1926. Passenger services to Brentford Station ceased
altogether on May 4th 1942 and the section to the docks closed for traffic
from the 31st December 1964. Remaining goods traffic to the town being was
withdrawn in 1970.

Today the track beyond
Brentford's West London Waste Terminal has been removed but the remainder
of the line between Southall and this area is still in place albeit for freight
traffic only. Further on there are still many visible remnants of the line
to be seen despite the massive redevelopment of the Brentford Dock
area.

One of the oddest features
of the line is Three Bridges, an unusual
configuration where at one point the road goes over the canal which in
turn goes over the railway. In reality this is only two bridges (unless
you count the pedestrian walkway alongside the canal which sits in its own
trough) and was the last project Isambard Kingdom Brunel realised in his
lifetime.